CPJ condemns censorship of Sudanese paper

New York, July 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a
decision by the Security and National Intelligence Service to bar publication
of the daily Al-Intibaha. Authorities suspended the newspaper last week because
of the newspaper’s supposed role “in strengthening separatist tendencies
in the south and the north,” a security official
told
local reporters.

The suspension stemmed from a July
4 article by Editor-in-Chief El-Tayeb Mustafa that criticized
Libyan involvement in Darfur and the role Muammar Qaddafi,the Libyan leader, plays in hosting a Sudanese
rebel group in Libya, according to news reports.
The newspaper’s editorial stance supports the separation between the northern
and southern Sudan, CPJ research shows.
“This suspension is clearly intended to
silence any potential critics ahead of next year’s referendum,” said CPJ Deputy
Director Robert Mahoney. “The authorities should immediately lift the
suspension and allow public debate on this issue.”
The Security and National
Intelligence Service informed the newspaper by phone that it would be suspended
"indefinitely" and that its July 6 edition was being confiscated. The
newspaper did not receive any written notice, according to a statement
published on Al-Intibaha website.
The newspaper plans to appeal the action
to the country’s constitutional court, Mustafa said at a news conference in
Khartoum last week. He said the intelligence and security forces have no legal authority
to suspend a newspaper. It can be only done by a court order. Article 39 of the
Sudanese Constitution guarantees freedom of the press.
The atmosphere in Sudan is heated ahead
of a referendum scheduled for January 2011 that will determine whether the south
will separate from the rest of the country. Sudanese authorities have
intensified a crackdown on journalists
and critical newspapers
in recent months as a result.